In Five Minutes
by firstlaughintartarus
Summary: I hug him tightly because I know he's scared. We both are. I glance at the clock. My five minutes are up. What happens in the last five minutes before the final battle of the Giant War.


The clock says I have five minutes. Five minutes till Percy and I charge outside to fight a bunch of Greek supernatural beings. Five minutes till we most likely run to our doom. Percy sits next to me on the bed in his cabin on the _Argo II_, his fingertips brushing mine. I look him in the eye, seeing all the swirling greens and dancing blues, even the tiny specks of golden. Together, they make a work of art, no one, not even the greatest artist the world has ever seen can replicate. Together, they make Percy Jackson. His hair is ruffled, and I think that maybe he made it messy just to tempt me. How does he always know the perfect way to get me all over him?

Percy stretches out a hand and brushes my cheek, poring his eyes over my face. He leans forward and presses his forehead to mine.

"We can do this." He says. "We can knock down anything they throw at us, right?"

"Right," I whisper, barely feeling the words escape my lips. "We can stay together, not separated."

Percy nods, "Never again."

It's too much. I can't resist anymore and I make sure his lips are on mine. I kiss him desperately, letting out my fear, trying to find safety. And I do. I find safety. It's there in the warmth of his arms, the sweet taste of his lips, the feel of his skin. It's there in his presence, in his love. I caress Percy's neck, running my fingers through his hair. He pulls me closer to him by pulling my waist forward with his hands. Our bodies touch. He squeezes my hips almost painfully. He's doing the same thing as I am. He's trying to find peace and security in the person he loves.

I press deeper into the kiss because my heart is warming with my suspicion. The little suspicion that tells me he loves me. Gently, Percy pushes me back so that I lie on my back, never once separating our lips. I can smell his clean, breezy, sea scent. It is filling me up to the brim, and I am swimming in a vast ocean that screams Percy. His breaths are deep and when he breathes out, the warm air tickles my skin. Percy slowly lifts his mouth from mine and for a moment, I am scared he has stopped. I don't want him to stop. Not now, not ever, not in thousand _millennia_. Percy proves me wrong by dipping his head down to my neck. He kisses and sucks on the soft skin, making me sigh out loud. He pauses for a moment.

"No," I whisper. "Please, don't stop."

Percy doesn't smile, but his eyes are shining with so much love. "I wasn't going to."

He attacks my neck harder this time, now even biting gently. I am so sure there will be a bruise there. How I'm going to hide that from the rest of the crew, I don't know. My hands squeeze the sheets, clawing at the wave-patterned linen. I quickly clutch Percy's face and pull it so I can see it. There is no happiness in it, and I'm not surprised. This whole situation, all that is happening right now, is not happy. It's miserable. And we're doing it because it might be the last time we get to do so, because one of us might not return from the battlefield. I can't bear the thought. I say to him the first words that pop into my head. The first words I always think whenever I've seen him lately.

"Percy," I say.

"Annabeth," he replies.

"I love you." I whisper, afraid.

Percy closes his eyes. Fear creeps into my throat. I can't have fallen. But I have. I fallen so deep I'll never climb out of this hole. I'll never be free of the grasp Percy has me in. I don't know how to cope with it. They say love isn't kind, and for the first time, I understand. Love captures you in its arms and doesn't let go. It never will let go if it really is Love. It takes your world and tosses and turns it in its menacing hands. Love is frightening. Love is confusing. Love is beautifully horrible. And my heart is full of it.

Percy's eyes open again. "Oh my gods." He states.

I nod. Oh thank Zeus, he understands!

"Oh no, Annabeth," his eyes are wide.

My own eyes are suddenly wet, and my vision is blurry.

"I love you, too." He says it so quietly I have to strain to hear it.

My eyes flutter closed and the tear I had been holding back falls down the side of my face. Percy buries his head in the crook of my neck and goes limp. I hug him tightly because I know he's scared. We both are. I glance at the clock. My five minutes are up.

"Percy, we have to go." I don't want to say it, but I do.

He stands, his face set. He holds out his hand and I take it. I grab my drakon-bone sword from the bedside table, and stare ahead.

"You look beautiful, baby." Percy says.

I raise and eyebrow at him, asking silently about the new nickname, and some of the old amusement returns. He lets out a small laugh and kisses me on the cheek. And together, hand in hand, we walk out the door.

**AN: If you can't tell by now, I adore writing percabeth angsty fluff. Anyway, hope you enjoyed, and leave a review if you can! **


End file.
